1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus of measuring a state of an IC lead frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, ICs have been used widely in various fields. A lead frame of an IC comprises many lead terminals in the form of thin strip. Inserting the lead terminals into a socket or directly into a printed circuit board connects the IC with a circuit connected to the socket or a circuit on the printed circuit board. All of the lead terminals must be horizontally arranged at a predetermined pitch and vertically even with one another. However, since the lead terminals often have an irregularity in the horizontal pitch and a vertical irregularity or a relief, the irregularities must be checked before the IC is actually mounted.
Heretofore, a measurement of a state of an IC lead frame employs a prior-art method of monitoring a reflected light from the lead frame using a CCD or ITV camera, and a prior-art method of monitoring a reflected light from the lead frame using laser beam. However, since the prior-art methods of measuring the state of the IC lead frame separately measures pitches and reliefs of the lead terminals, an apparatus of measuring the state of the IC lead frame is complicated and the measurement of the pitches and the reliefs of the lead terminals is time-consuming.